Problems are with lawbreakers, not the homeless

Thursday

Take any group of 400 to 500, says Barnstable Police Chief Paul MacDonald, and you’ll find a small number of troublemakers that causes a lot of grief and grabs a lot of attention.

Police chief listens to concerns of Hyannis Civic Association Take any group of 400 to 500, says Barnstable Police Chief Paul MacDonald, and you’ll find a small number of troublemakers that causes a lot of grief and grabs a lot of attention. But, he told the Greater Hyannis Civic Association board June 10, that doesn’t mean the behavior of those 25 to 35 bad apples should characterize the whole group. MacDonald said the vast majority of the 400 to 500 homeless people who live in Hyannis don’t disturb the peace. They’re people down on their luck, unable to make rent payments, perhaps dealing with a personal struggle that a place to live and a job will help resolve. “Most deserve a helping hand,” he said. The chief, who prides himself on knowing on sight the town’s chronic offenders, said he was surprised when he gave a talk at the NOAH shelter and didn’t recognize anyone in his audience. That proves his point, he said. On the other hand, MacDonald said there’s no question that his department’s response to calls involving homeless people comes at a cost. A study of such calls in 2007 found an expenditure of $148,113.33 for the year. Add to that a survey taken two years ago that found only a small percentage of the homeless claimed Barnstable as their point of origin, and the case for involvement by the Cape’s 14 other towns is advanced. Rumors persist that social service agencies in southeastern Massachusetts offer bus tickets to the Cape to homeless people. Responding to a question, MacDonald said he has proof that a shelter in Boston has sent people to Hyannis. As for other Cape towns, he said, “I don’t think anyone is sending them to Hyannis… but everybody knows. If you need to get care, get put into NOAH overnight, or Pilot House...” The chief took a practical approach, noting that with Cape Cod Hospital and other services available here, it’s only natural that the village is a magnet for people who need help. He sounded an optimistic note about the Duffy Clinic’s new health van, which is making the rounds of Cape towns to help serve homeless people in their communities of origin. By no means is Hyannis a crime-ridden area, according to MacDonald. Since the 1930s, he said, the village has generated 60 to 65 percent of the department’s calls, but he was quick to explain what that means. Of the calls for service in Hyannis in 2007, 1,449 were to check alarms (99 percent proved false, MacDonald said) and 1,333 were responses to motor vehicle crashes (it would appear avoiding the Airport Rotary is a good thing). The chief said there are about 10 calls a day to clear the village green and the wall outside the Hyannis Transportation Center (though the decoy cruiser helps at the latter location – and sometimes it’s backed up by an officer). If someone is taken into protective custody three times in a month, MacDonald said, he or she can be committed to a detox program for 30 days. That’s about the extent of what the police can do to removes members of that small group of offenders from the streets. One concern among some board members was people sleeping in “camps” in the woods around downtown again, in particular behind the former National Guard armory on South Street. MacDonald, who was the point person when camps in locations around the village were cleared out several years ago, said officers regularly walk the woods to try to prevent their re-establishment. Calling the camps “squalid,” MacDonald said, “We still tear ‘em down all the time.” Association President Tony Pelletier summed up the mood of the room when he asked, “What can we do to help?” The chief said it’s important to recognize that homelessness is a national and global problem. He joined Pelletier in urging a regional approach, perhaps coordinated by the county. The Association welcomed Precinct 2 Town Councilor Tom Rugo, whose mostly Centerville district laps into Hyannis, for an update. Coincidentally, Rugo wrote this week’s councilor’s column in the paper’s Villages section. Turn to page C:1 to read what’s on his mind.

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